


Hell hath no fury

by blondyfel



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Although maybe some angst, But I needed a bady, Cop/mafia AU, Frank is a detective, Frerard, Gerard is the chief of a gang, It will contain some violence but nothing too gory I swear, It's set in Chicago, Lindsey is crazy in this, M/M, Slow Burn, There is some Gerard/Lindsey but it's over, altough I love her in real life, and it will, from enemy to friend to enemy to lovers, if that makes sense, just read it, no one dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:54:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9052396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blondyfel/pseuds/blondyfel
Summary: Frank Iero is a young detective. He is back in Chicago after spending most his life in jersey. He aske to be assigned to the Ways case. Mikey and Gerard are the leaders if the biggest gang in town. Gerard start flirting with the young and attractive detective. Everything seems sort of alright until some new player arrives in town...





	1. Romance

"What are you doing?" The short detective asked the taller man with fire-red hair.

"Well, what does it look like honey? I'm bringing you coffee! All this time you're spending trying to put me behind bars, figured you'll be tired!"

"You are one of the most wanted man in the city, in the state even, and so you think bringing the detective investigating you, some coffee is a good idea Gerard? God, how come we still haven't catch you?!"

"Oh darling, you won't arrest me! You can't! You have no proof, and I'm way too good looking for jail! So yes, Frank, bringing you coffee is a  _brilliant_ idea. And you're incredibly hot when you're tired and furious, which you obviously are right now" Gerard smiled proudly. He sat the cup of coffee he had been holding, on Frank's desk and walked away, swaying his hips more than was strictly necessary. 

Frank chuckled softly and tried the coffee. Black with just the right amount of sugar. Fuck, Gerard really knew what he was doing.

OoO

Frank was fairly new to the city. He had been born there but after the divorce his mother had moved to New Jersey and he had grown up there. But, after rigorous studies and training he was back in Chicago. He was now a police detective, the youngest on the force. Everyone was slightly corrupt around him. Most of the officers told him that gangs actually helped keep the city in order. 

Frank just couldn't accept that. He had to at least tried to do something. So, when he arrived he asked to be assigned to the Ways case. The commissioner had smiled knowingly and given him the files. Jamia Nestor was a great cop, but she was also used to young officers coming in with big dreams, and she knew they all came to their senses after a while and started seeing the reality of the city. You couldn't hope to accomplish anything of you refused any dialogue with the gangs. She chose to consider it a necessary evil. 

Since then Frank had gone over every single sheet of paper in the file at least a thousand times. When he finally realized nothing new would simply appear in the middle of the pages he decided it was time to meet the Way brothers.  

Gerard, the oldest, and Mikey. They were running their operations from the Peninsula, one of Chicago's best hotel. They were permanent guest since they helped the owner acquire it. They had the top floor all to themselves. Even though he tried not to look too impressed by his surroundings, Frank, coming from a modest family, couldn't help but to feel dwarfed by the magnificent decor.

His first meeting with Gerard went surprisingly well. Gerard was very polite and though he had had an amused smile the whole time, he had never shown condescendence. He even that he respected Frank's opinion on justice and wouldn't try to buy him off. He showed him around the place and told him to come back anytime if he wanted to ask some more questions if the need ever arises. 

Frank had left slightly confused. How could this young man, 'cause Gerard couldn't be older than him by much, be in charge of the most dangerous gang in all of Chicago? This puzzled him. So, he had gone back to his files, trying to find new evidence in old reports, even if the chances were very slim. He also started a campaign to have every other officer grant him access to theirs cases if it were seemingly tide to the Way brothers. He had not go back to the Peninsula. He was pretty sure, another meeting with Gerard would only distract him.

But after a few weeks, Gerard showed up. In the middle of the police station. Waving to a couple of officer. Completely unfazed by the fact that many cops would probably want to arrest him. But no one made a move and he walked through the desks calmly until he was standing by Frank’s.

“Hello detective Iero. I’m glad to see you’re okay. I must admit, since you never came back to see me, I was a little worried you got yourself shot, or something equally unpleasant!”.

Frank stared, incapable of forming a coherent sentence. What the fuck was Way doing here? He couldn’t start to wrap his head around it…

“Are you aright detective? Oh god, I didn’t break you did I?” Way seemed genuinely confused, “Are you having a stroke? Did I give the puppy a stroke?!?”

“’M not a puppy!” Frank’s brain finally started working again. “Not a puppy…. And what the fuck are you doing here? Do you have a death wish?” Frank whispered between his gritted teeth, looking equally mad and confused.

“A death wish? No, not really…’’Gerard looked a bit taken aback, “But you do know no one’s gonna hurt me here…Like, you’re the one investigating my amazing ass, so, technically, you’re the only one I need to worry about. But, by judging by your adorable face, you have nothing on me! Unless you wanna shoot me?” Gerard seemed perfectly at ease surrounded by cops. He was now even sitting on the edge of Frank’s desk, an amused grin hovering on his lips.

“Are you… Are you seriously flirting with me?” Frank was quite in shock. Fist his suspect was sitting there like he owned the dam place (which, after reflection, he maybe did), then, said suspect was now sweet talking him… That didn’t make any sort of sense to Frank.

Gerard leaned in, too close for comfort, and stage-whispered “Yes, but don’t tell anyone, they might arrest you on charges of association with a known criminal”, he then sat back and winked at a very stunned Frank.

After the initial shock, Frank started laughing, “Hahaha, okay, so you _are_ insane! Great, makes my job easier, crazy people always end up making a mistake!”

Gerard startle a bit at that, “Nop, not insane. And you won’t catch me. Sorry. But, even at the risk of being corny, I must admit I am crazy for your eyes. Like, seriously Iero, you got some amazing eyes!” And with that Gerard stood up and left.

After that he came in at least twice a week, often more, to bring Frank some coffee. They were no on a first-name basis, even though Frank didn’t really like that. But Gerard had started calling him Frank and so he had wanted to even the field.

The most infuriating thing was, the coffee was absolutely divine. Frank didn’t knew how, but Gerard had gotten it right since the first time. And it was way better than anything he could get his hands on at the station.

He had started to look forward to that time of the day when Gerard would walk in, red hair, black leather jacket, impossibly tight black jeans, and coffee in hand. Frank told himself it was just because of the coffee. But it wasn’t entirely true…Gerard, even though he was a criminal, was actually sort of a great guy. Smart, funny, and incredibly nerdy, just as much as Frank, which was undeniably some sort of record. And then there was the “bad-boy” attitude, and the fact that he was so incredibly sexy that it looked like he had just walked right out of Frank’s teens fantasies. Gerard was the sort of boy your mother would definitely disapproved of and that you’d meet at night in some shitty parking lot to make out with.

But he was a criminal. And Frank couldn’t forget that or he would find himself in the kind of problems he really didn’t want to find himself in.

And so, it continued. Gerard would show-up. Infuriate Fran and flirt with him, offer coffee, and leave after a few minutes. After almost two months it had become a well-established routine. Gerard would come every day, and when he couldn’t he’d sent one of his goons with the coffee and a note of apologies. Frank was, of course, still denying his feelings, and not an inch closer to catch Gerard.

This situation was kind of comfortable for Frank though. He actually got to do his job without making any concessions, but he still got to see the handsome gang leader So, yeah, he liked it, a lot.


	2. Heaven Help Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update but I had a lot of work for school. I swear I'll try to update more often now! :)

Things couldn’t always be good though… So, one day, maybe four months into their nice little routine, word got out that a new player had arrived in town. No one really knew who he was, nor where he came from. But he was more violent than the Ways. He hadn’t form any alliance with other gangs, he hadn’t even tried to buy cops. He was playing on a different scale.

In just three weeks, he had killed at least twenty people, including a cop and a judge. He had also claimed two parts of town previously owned by the Irish’s gang. A wind of panic was blowing over the city, and not so slowly thing started to change.

Every officer was reassigned to the new player. Old cases were put on hold. A curfew was set and people were starting to fear leaving their houses even in broad daylight. The older gang were getting for war, and so the traffic of illegals guns had never been this intense in the city. Even Frank had to drop the Way case and help out the others. At first Gerard joked about it and told him he was glad to finally have some breathing space. But he assured Frank that he’ll soon catch this new guy and will be harassing him again in no time.

But three weeks turned into three months. The city was completely upside-down. New alliance had been made. Many cops had died and so more and more started calling off their previous arrangement with the gang. Civilians were targeted non-stop in violent and pointless wars over territories.

Gerard had stopped coming to the police station after the first month. He was too busy trying to defend his people, territory, and alliances. Many cops would now arrest him if he stepped into the station anyway. Frank missed him, he never got a minute to himself nowadays, and he longed for a breath of fresh air, and also good coffee. God, he was craving good coffee at this point. He hardly ever returned home, sleeping at the station was safer, so he was spending most of his night at his desk, trying to get some more work done. The fact that the new guy had stolen Gerard, and coffee, from him really made Frank angry. His real identity was still unknown, every attempt at catching him had failed miserably. After a while people just started calling him The Ghost.

Frank was at the head of a small group of five officers, they had for mission to try and stop as many drug deals as possible. They were trying to reduce The Ghost’s income, in doing so they thought he would be weaken and forced to step out of the shadows. But they had had no such luck so far. Of courses, they had arrested maybe two dozen of small dealers, but none of them could give them solid intel on The Ghost. They didn’t even know the names of the guys giving them the drugs. And, for everyone they caught, two or more would simply pop-up in their place the next day.

It really felt like all this work would never amount to anything, and that realization was slowly driving Frank insane. He hadn’t slept in almost three days when he broke and just decided to go home, dam the danger, at least he if died he could finally rest and forget all of this shit-show.

No one jumped him tough. He made it home safe and sound, only to discover that after two weeks, nothing edible was left in his fridge. He decided to order some take-out, but that turned out to be more difficult than he remembered. The first three places he called had stopped delivering after their delivery boys had been attacked or worst. He finally found some crappy Chinese place that agreed to give him some food.

He was laying on the couch, loud music playing, trying to clear his mind, when someone knocked on his door. He got up with a groan. When he reached the door, he pulled out his gun, just to be safe, then swung the door open.

Instead of a delivery boy Gerard stood in front him, that maddening grin on his lips. “Great! Where is my food Way? You better not have shot the delivery boy, or I _will_ arrest you!” Frank groaned, too tired for any if Gerard’s bullshit.

Gerard’s grin flattered a bit “Back to last names, are we? And no, I didn’t shoot anyone. Here’s your food darling.” He then shoved three take-out containers in Frank’s arms. “Oh, and drop the gun, I know you’re happy to see me but really, this is embarrassing.” He pushed by Frank and entered the flat uninvited.  

Frank finally moved. He pushed the door close and followed Gerard into the living room. “What are you doing here? I’m tired Way. I don’t need you messing around right now. I haven’t slept in three days so my patience is very thin right now… So maybe, it’ll be in your interest if you’d come back latter… or, you know, not at all.” Frank’s tone was sharp and cutting. Maybe a little bit more that he had intended in the first place.

Gerard turned around and whistled “Whoa…. You really are tired! Why haven’t you been sleeping? How are you supposed to work if you’re not sleeping? I mean, look at you, I’ve seen corpse that looked better than you Frankie!”

Frank winced at the nick-name, Gerard had only called him that once or twice, always when he was trying to infuriate Frank. And yes, maybe Frank secretly sort of liked it.  But right now, it only annoyed him further. “Stop it. Honestly why do you even care? I’m supposed to put you behind bars. So, if I die of exhaustion because of your little friend, you’ll be happy, won’t you?”

“Happy? Really? I have been openly flirting with you for how many months now? Are you stupid! And she is _not_ my friend! I know you think all criminals are the same, but on this one we’re on the same team.” Gerard’s voice was deadly serious, “He came after Mikey… I knew it was only a matter of time before she’d came after me, but she didn’t! She came after my fucking brother! So I’ll do pretty much anything to help you put her behind bars, or even better, with a bullet between the eyes.”

“I’m gonna pretend you never said that, Way. I’m still a police officer and I could arrest you just for saying that…. But you brought my food so I’m gonna play nice.” Franke rolled his eyes and added in a more serious tone,” And sorry about your brother…” He then walked to the kitchen with the food containers to hat them up. He came back two minutes later holding a bottle of whisky and two steaming plates. “I’m out of clean glasses, hope you don’t mind.”

Frank sat down on the couch and gestured for Gerard to join him. Gerard hesitated for a second then sat and took one of the plates. They ate in relative silence until Frank spoke up again. “So, what do you know about The Ghost anyway?”

“Pretty much nothing Frankie…. I mean maybe one thing but, I don’t know….” Gerard trailed, his voice almost a whisper, something was clearly bothering him a lot about The Ghost, although Frank could not decide what it was.

“Hmmm…. So, basically you’re just here to eat my food and drink my booze then?” Frank answered with a light tone and a wink, or something approaching one anyway.

“Yes, sure, like I would let anyone hurt Mikey to eat crappy Chinese and drink cheap whisky in your dump of a flat…. Wait, now that you say it maybe that sounds like something I might actually do…. But no, not this time” Gerard’s voice was lighter but Frank knew he was still worried about Mikey. “Am I like a creepy stalker?” Now amusement was more evident in his tone.

“Nah, I’ve dealt with worst. Honestly for a crime lord, or whatever you’re calling yourself these days, you’re a pretty decent guy. You know, apart from the crime stuff.  And you make incredible coffee so I am inclined to forgive a bit of stalking.” Frank grinned and made another attempt at a wink, a bit more successful than the last, “Gimme the bottle now, I think I deserve a drink, and you’ve already drank almost half the bottle!”

“Aren’t officers supposed to stay sober on duty? To be prepared in case of an emergency? If you’re drunk you can’t save the puppies. Oh, god the puppies. Think of the puppies Frank, you simply cannot drink!” Gerard delivered this with a tragic voice, almost tearing up. But as soon as he shut up he had to stifle a giggle. He was starting to get a bit drunk.

“Shit you’re right! The puppies need me!” Frank tried his best to sound serious but the tiredness caught up with him and they were soon both laughing. “Okay, now cut the crap and give me my whisky back or I’ll arrest you for theft!”

“Pfff, right. Look at you! Like you can arrest me right now! And remember I brought you food!” Frank looked like he was thinking for a bit, “Humm, fine. No handcuffs for you then!”

Gerard made a disappointed sound that send them laughing again, and finally passed the bottle to Frank. They spend the rest of the night drinking and joking around, not speaking of The Ghost again.

They finally fell asleep on top of each other in what was definitely an uncomfortable position on Frank’s couch. In the morning, only a few hours after falling asleep to be precise, they were woken up by Frank’s phone. The ringing way too loud in their hungovered opinion.

After a few fruitless attempts, Frank caught his phone and answered. He was soon wide awake, speaking in fasts, sharps tones. When he hung up he turned towards a still half asleep Gerard.

“Out. Now.”

“What? No…. five more minutes, think about the food.” Gerard tried to turn away from Frank, his voice still heavy with sleep and alcohol.

“Yeah, not gonna happened you bastard. You get out of my flat right now or I’ll shoot you. Your choice.”  

“Whoa, slow down tiger. What in hell happened for you to be in such a good mood this morning?”

“I’m not talking to you anymore you sick fuck! Get. Out. Now!” Frank didn’t even looked his way before grabbing his jacket and his gun, and walking towards the door. He waited for a few seconds but when it was clear Gerard wasn’t gonna move fast enough he just spat “Close the door when you leave and don’t still anything”, before walking out and slamming the door behind him.

Gerard was left confused on the couch. He had no idea why Frank was suddenly in such a mood. After maybe two minutes he finally moved and left the flat. As he was making his way down the stairs his phone started ringing. He looked at it to see a text from his brother. “Shit!” The word only a whisper trough his gritted teeth.  He started running in the cold Chicago morning.


	3. House of Wolvves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long. College got crazy but I validated my first semester so yay!   
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :)

Frank had just arrived at the scene. A drug and gun deal gone horribly wrong. But this time, there was something different. It was a deal between the Ways and The Ghost. Frank was furious. He had spent the night drinking and laughing with Gerard while this was taking place. How could he have believed that Gerard knew nothing of this…. Well now that he thought of it Gerard had been referring to The Ghost by a female pronoun so maybe he knew more than he was willing to tell. Frank had been too tired then too drunk to really notice it last night but now it seemed he had been played in more way than one. For all he knew Gerard and The Ghost could be buddies, and the story about Mikey just a plot to make Frank pity and trust him. Fuck! How could he have been so stupid! At least five guys were dead now, including a cop who had the bad luck of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The commissioner was talking with the two cops who had found the bodies first. She seemed very unhappy with what she was hearing.

“Ha, Frank, glad to see you could join us!” Her words sharps and cutting, colder than the morning air.

“Sorry ma’am. How can I help you with this?” Frank didn’t dare look at her directly in the eyes.

“You were in charge of the Way case before all this shit started. I want you back on it. It seems your friend has gotten himself into troubles with the Ghost. We can probably use him to learn more about The Ghost, maybe even gain access to him.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“No objections? I thought you two were… let’s say _close_ “

“No, don’t worry. Whatever interest Mr Way might have shown in the past is not going to be a problem. Not anymore. I swear.” Frank’s words hurt him as he spoke them. But, this was true. If he ever had some sort of little fantasy that he could have something with Gerard, today was a cruel remainder that nothing could ever happen.

“Good, you’re one of our best Iero. It’d be a shame to lose you to a pretty face.” Ans with that she turned and left the scene. Clearly leaving him in charge of things here.

After a brief discussion with the cops and the forensics it was clear that someone had me it out alive.  But whether it was one of the Ways men or the Ghost’s was unclear. One thing was certain though, he could not have gone away very far and they had to find him soon, before this guy bled out on the streets or got picked up by his allies. He could be able to give them intel about the Ghost, something they were clearly desperate for at this point.

Frank dispatched a couple of officers to look for a body or any trace of it. Three others were in charge of asking around if anyone saw or eared anything in the neighbourhood, but they were pretty sure no one would talk. He went back to the station and got all the old files out. Going over everything once more. Maybe the Ghost had worked with the Ways before, or was linked to them in some way. Maybe that was why he knew the city so well. Plus, Frank had a hunch, something he could not really place about his night with Gerard told him that, Gerard, in fact, knew exactly who the Ghost was. But he couldn’t remember if it was something Gerard had say…. The alcohol and the lack of sleep played against him.

After fruitless hours of research, they had no leads. The officers in charge of finding the survivor came back empty handed. They were only able to follow a trail of blood to a busier street, where it simply vanished. They were back to square one.

A young cop then suggested they maybe paid a visit to the Way brothers. Even if it was unlikely they’d say anything it was sort of their last resort. Frank, even though he didn’t like the idea, had to admit that, at this point, they had no other choices. He insisted he’d go alone, he wouldn’t put other officer’s life on the line.

He went to the Peninsula, but this time felt that much impressed by the luxury of the hotel. He wasn’t a young, inexperienced detective anymore. This last few months felt like years to him. The last time he had come there were only a handful of guards, and not all of them were armed. But, today he counted maybe fifty men, all armed and some with dogs patrolling the corridors. By the time he reached the top floor he had been searched at least three times. When he entered Gerard’s suite he felt in the middle of a war head-quarter. All the furniture had been pushed along the walls, a massive table stood in the middle of the room, at least five men were standing around it, looking at a map and other papers. Frank couldn’t see Gerard and started to grow nervous as more and more men started to notice his presence. The chatter in the room died down slowly. And soon everyone was glaring at him. Frank felt less and less comfortable by the minute, Gerard was still nowhere to be seen and this could get out of hand quickly.

Finally, a door opened at the far side of the room and Gerard emerged. His eyes were red and he looked like he was about to kill someone with his bare hands. That wasn’t a good sign for Frank, not at all.

“Sir, there’s a cop here. Wants to talk to you. Said you’d want to see him.” One of them men that escorted him up pushed him forward.

“Well, well, well… Detective Iero. If this isn’t a surprise! I wouldn’t have expected to see you again this soon. Not after the way you behaved this morning…” Gerard lifted an eyebrow, his voice mocking. He knew he had the upper hand here, and he was clearly enjoying it.

“Yeah, well things change fast around here. Especially now… I need to talk with you. Yes or no?” Frank looked at him straight in the eyes, his voice as firm as he could manage.

“You know me… How could I say no to this eyes!” Gerard chuckled and winked. “Come, darling. I suppose you’d rather talk in private, follow me.” Gerard passed him and grabbed his arm. He dragged a stunned and quite embarrassed Frank a few floors down, until they were standing by the pool. The view over Chicago was breath-taking and Frank almost forgot why he was there. But he soon cleared his head and turned towards Gerard. He looked exhausted. His eyes were puffy, he had been crying. Just then he remembered what Gerard had said about Mikey, and even if Frank had doubted him it now seems very real.

“Shit. You were telling the truth… I’m so sorry Gee…” The nickname escaped Frank. He had been calling Gerard like that in his head for months but he never really dared use it in real life.

“You thought I’d lie about that? About my brother’s health? Fuck, you’re fucked up too!” Gerard darkly giggled. 

“Yeah, well, after what happened this morning I thought maybe you lied a lot more than what I thought at first.”

“I didn’t lie to you frankie…”

“Really? Are you gonna tell me you still don’t know who the fuck is The Ghost? That you have no idea who that is? Because the way things look, it feels a little bit more personal than a simple drug deal gone wrong, Gee”. Frank was growing angry and irritated. The lack of sleep and the frustration of the investigation finally catching up with him.

“Yes. It was more than a deal gone wrong. But no, I don’t know for sure who The Ghost is… Even if one could say I have a very strong inkling…”

“Tell me.” Frank’s tone was without appeal. He wasn’t asking, he was demanding.

“No. I can’t. You have to trust me on this one. If I’m right, which I probably am, I must deal with it alone. If anyone else gets involved it’ll get worst… So much worst. She is only getting stared after all…”

“She?” Frank was frantic now, “Gerard, you have to tell me or I’ll arrest you for obstructing justice. And if you tell me I can stop it from getting ugly. Please.”

Gerard looked to Frank. His eyes were so sad. He looked like he was about to give in. But he didn’t. Slowly his eyes started hardening. After a few seconds, he looked as cold as marble, his eyes now dark and dangerous.

“No frankie. This one’s on me. My mess. You stay put and don’t do anything stupid. I’d hate for you to get caught in the crossfire.” He smiles but his smile wasn’t warm or gentle, it looked more like a tiger showing off his deadly teeth.

Frank felt a shiver run down his spine. Gerard walked by him on his way to the door, and as he passed him by, frank heard him whispered “Hell hath no fury…”

Gerard was gone. Frank was alone by the pool. Th view still beautiful but he felt sad looking at it. Now that he was certain that the city was hostage to a war of clan he was unlikely to stop. At least he was now certain that Gerard knew The Ghost. And it also appeared that it was a woman. Now that he thought about this was the thing he couldn’t remember from the previous night. Gerard had kept referring to The Ghost as a “she”. That was also maybe why they had no luck finding her so far. They had been looking for a man. The violence of the crimes and the very aggressive policy lead by The Ghost was more consistent with a male profile. But the fact that she was a woman could also explain why her operations had stayed clear from prostitution and human trafficking. Anyway, he had to go back to the station and report to the commissioner. She would maybe be pleased by what he had learned.


	4. The Ghost of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it tool me so long to write this! Life got sort of crazy and I didn't had much time to write. I'm gonna try to be more active and write more regularly but I can't make any promises!  
> Anyway, I hope you will enjoy the chapter! :)

Frank hurried back to the police station. He knew that he needed to tell the commissioner what he had learned right away. After all, lives were on the line.

She welcomed him coldly, she looked exhausted, almost on the brink of collapsing. He had never seen her this tired, but then again, everyone here had forgotten what sleep was and they were only running on coffee and cigarettes.

“Ma’am, I may have a lead on The Ghost.”

The way she suddenly looked at him at those words, her eyes narrowing and focusing on him sent shiver down Frank’s spine. Yeah, he’d better be right about this or she’ll probably kill him herself right now.

“I… I went to see Way. And he kept referring to the Ghost as a _she_. And he clearly knew her. All this makes me think she is someone he knew, someone he was close to even… I know we don’t know much about his past but I sincerely think this is the key to figuring out who the Ghost might be.”

“A woman? Her tone was surprised and a bit sceptic, Well… Why the hell not! After all we’ve been looking for a man all this time, might be why we never found anything…” Jamia looked away from Frank and started pacing, her brain clearly working overtime. “But you’re right, we have close to nothing on Way’s past… He basically just showed up one day and after a short while he owned the town… Or most of it anyway.” She sounded tired, but still determined to chase after anything that might help them catch the bastard. “Okay, she sighed, you go dig in all the records we have on the Way brothers. I would like to assign a couple more officers to help you but honestly I need all men I can spare on the street right now, so you’ll have to do this alone…”

“It’s alright by me, anyway, I know those records almost by heart by now, having someone with me might just slow me down.” Frank’s voice was sharp and clear, he wasn’t gonna fuck this up. He was going to give this his all. He knew he was onto something big. “I’m going to find out who the Ghost is, I swear Ma’am.”

Jamia looked at him with a half-smile, “Ha, the fire of youth… very beautiful… Now get to work Iero!”

Frank got out of her office and walked straight to the archive room, he pulled every case files even remotely connected to Gerard and his brother. He locked himself in an office the commissioner had granted him. He organized the files by chronological order. He was only interested in the very beginning of the Ways adventure. He knew the key to his problems could only lie in the files tracking the very beginning of Gerard’s career.

He spent hours reading the same couple of pages over and over again. Something felt strange about the way Gerard seemed to have simply appeared a couple of years back. Apart from his brother and associate Frank couldn’t find any trace of a family. He couldn’t even find were Gee and Mikey had been born. All this was infuriating. He needed to understand were Gerard was coming from.

He then started to look online on the data base of child services, if he couldn’t find any trace of a family, it was maybe because they simply didn’t have one? But he the brothers had been in the system he could find their trace. But then again, he didn’t find anything. No child under the name of Gerard Way had been registered in the child services, at least not in Illinois. He then decided to start a search country wide. Maybe the Ways hadn’t been born there.

After hours of fruitless searches, he finally found something, a certain Gerard Way and his brother, Michael Way, had been admitted in an orphanage in New jersey for a couple of months. But they were quickly adopted by a Helena Way. According to her date of birth Frank deduced she must have been their grand-mother or an Aunt. It was after all common for older relatives to adopt the kids of their family that found themselves without parents.

Frank then gathered as much intel he could on that Helena, she lived in the suburbs, she was a modest woman, but she owned a small house. She didn’t live in a very nice neighbourhood, which might explain the way the brothers turned out. The place where they lived not that far from the place Frank was raised himself. It was strange to find that Gerard came from the same sort of background he did.

He then searched for the school adjacent to the house and did some digging to find in which one the brothers had been attending. Although most of the school’s records were a mess he finally managed to tract down the two boys, they had been going to the public school closest to their grand-mother’s house. He managed to find a digital copy of their respective years books and tried to figure out with which kind of kids they were hanging out. Without surprises the brothers were not very athletic. Apparently, the only club they joined was music, for both, and art, but just Gerard this time. Apart from that Frank didn’t learned anything more. There were no group pictures in which they appeared so it was hard to try and deduce which kids were their friends.

After the high school Frank did some digging in local police station’s file, both Gerard and Mikey had been arrested a couple of time for small demeanours, characteristics of bored teenagers, nothing more. Although they apparently always got arrested with a third person, a girl, the same age as Gerard. Her name was Lindsay. Since it was the only female figure he could associate with Gerard and Mikey, well except for their grand-mother, but Frank doubted she’d be the one waging a bloody war against her grand-sons, he decided to do more research on her.   

Turned out she had a much heavier criminal record than the boys, she was involved of some sort of drug dealing gang. Not a very big one but still. She had no relatives and had been place in the same orphanage Gerard and Mikey spend a couple of months. It was probably then that they met. She didn’t attend the same high-school as the boys, but one with the worst reputation in the area.

According to Frank Lindsay and Gerard must have met when they were both 13 or 14. Then they had clearly stayed in touch since they got arrested together regularly over the years. But if Gerard only got in trouble once or twice a year, Lindsay would get arrested almost every month for a number of small offences, rating from petty thief to small drug deals. She spent a few months in juvey but always got out, by some sort of miracle.  

As they grew older it was clear that Gerard cared about her, he bailed her out of jail a couple of time. Frank figured he must have taken a job on top of high-school, probably to help his grand-mother who had a very low income. So, for him to sacrifice his salary was a big deal. This Lindsay must have really mattered to him.

But then the record showed that Gerard stopped getting arrested, around the time he must have turned 18, if Frank was correct. On the other hand, Lindsay’ behaviour only got worse. But Gerard never bailed her again. He seemed to have abandoned her in a way.

Frank wondered at what could have happened between the two of them. He did some more digging and found out that Gerard actually got in an art college in New York, he probably moved out of his grand-mother house at that time. Working one, or more likely two jobs to be able to pay a rent and pay his tuitions fees. Frank looked over the police record of the precinct he was closer to only to found that Gerard must have been behaving, because there were no records of any arrest in which he was involved.

So, from what Frank had gathered, Gerard was quite an average teenager, getting in trouble sometimes but nothing too extreme. But he also had a very strong friendship with a girl who was navigating way more dangerous waters. This friendship lasted for 4 to 5 years, then Gerard moved away and never seemed to get involved in Lindsay’s life.

Frank knew he was onto something. His instincts were screaming at him that he was close to his goal. But something was missing. Even if she had become a seasoned criminal why would Lindsay go after Gerard in such a violent way? Something big must have happened between those two, something bigger than just moving away and stopping a friendship.

Frank went back to Lindsay’s police records and followed her “career path”. She had gradually move up the hierarchy in her gang, from a small dealer she became the head of the organisation on just a couple of years. But she got too greedy and started wars with other bigger and older gangs. And that was what fucked her apparently. She got busted and sent to prison, according to the case file a member of a rival clan came to the police with intel about her whereabouts. The cops then sent a maul and took her entire network down. Frank couldn’t figure out who the mole was. From the way the rapport was written it wasn’t a policeman, but rather a civilian, close to Lindsay, who had agreed to cooperate with the police by wearing a microphone and managed to get a confession from Lindsay.

But from what Frank could gather, all of Lindsay’s associate were utterly loyal to her. One of her dealer even committed suicide when he got arrested. He preferred to take his own life rather than risking giving up his superior. So, Frank really could not imagine one of these guys suddenly agreeing to cooperate with the cops. He read most of the profile of the persons working for Lindsay and it was always the same pattern: she would recruit young kids that were left behind by the system. She would offer them shelter, a sense of purpose and family. She would only require the at most loyalty from them. And she would, of course get it. Those kids were nothing without her. They had no one outside the gang. There was no way the cops found a mean of leverage in those kids.

So the mole must have been someone Lindsay trusted enough to talk to freely about her business but not someone actually part of it. But she didn’t to have any sort of friends; all the reports said she never got out, never spent time with people outside her gang. She was only seen with “new faces” when she was recruiting. But other than that, nothing. Even the members of opposing gangs that tipped the police off told the cops that getting to her will be a huge challenge. She didn’t trust anyone and she had no life apart from the gang. So, for the cops to have actually found someone she would talk to, trust, and invite in her life was nothing short of a miracle.

To try and get a better idea of who might have played that part Frank pulled the transcription from her trial. The names of the witness had been redacted to protect their identity, like in most trial involving gangs. But the way Lindsay reacted when the testimony of one person came up tipped Frank off. After hearing the lawyer read the testimony, the witness was not physically present at the time, in an effort to protect him from any kind of retribution, Lindsay stood up and started yelling that she had been betrayed, that the bastard will pay with his life, that no matter how long she was gonna spent in jail she’ll come after him. The way she dropped her façade of cool she otherwise maintained throughout the entire trial, told Frank that she was taking it like a personal betrayal. When other gang members had testified against her she had been cold, but seemed reasonable confronted to their accusation, it was business after all and everyone understood the risks. Even when some of her own took the stand and testified she showed more disappointment in her “children” than anger. But for that particular testimony, rage suddenly filled her.

Her last words before being dragged out of the courtroom, after her sentenced had been announced, gave Frank the last piece of information he needed.

_“You’ll pay Gee, you’ll pay. You’ll learn what betraying me, what betraying us means!”_

Frank knew who was the mole. It was Gerard. For some reason, the cops had found him and convinced him to go talk to Lindsay, and she failed for it. Her long-lost brother of arms finally coming back to her. Of course, she fell in the trap. Not suspecting one instant that Gerard would be the instrument of her downfall.

Frank didn’t know exactly how the police convinced Gerard to go back to her. Maybe money, maybe they threatened him of charging him of association with a known criminal… He had no clue. But it didn’t matter know, he had a motive and a perfect suspect.

There was just one last thing, according to her sentence Lindsay should have still been behind bars at this day. After a quick search, he found out that she had been released early, some evidence had resurfaced and a mistrial was pronounced for some obscure reason.

Lindsay was a free woman once more. And apparently, she had decided to take her revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!  
> As usual, kudos and feedback are highly appreciated! :)


	5. Demolition Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo!!! so, this one is a bit longer, but I had stuff to say and no idea where or when to stop so.... Enjoy ;)

“Lindsay. Lindsay Ballato?” Jamia’s voice was intrigued, she looked over at Frank who was standing still, arms behind his back on the threshold of her office.

“Yes, Ma’am. I think she might be The Ghost.” Frank’s voice was steady and his words certain. He was very sure of his theory.

“Okay… From what you told me she does have the profile, and the motive. You did a good job Iero.” A half-smile appeared on her face. She seemed relieved to finally have something real on The Ghost. For the first time, it seemed like they could take it down. It felt real, and not some sort of nightmare they were bound to hunt down for all of eternity. “I’ll pass the information around, get her picture to all officers on the ground. You go home and rest a bit, you’ve deserved it.” And with a small gesture of her hand she sent Frank away.

He was incredibly pleased that his instincts had been right. But he also knew that the hard part was only beginning. Sure, now they had a name and a picture, but he knew that this girl was smart, she would not be this easy to find. And even if they found her, taking her down would certainly prove to be difficult. If she had reproduced the same pattern that she had installed in New Jersey, she would be surrounded by faithful soldiers, ready to die for her.

Frank was also aware that they had more chances to catch her if Gerard shared his knowledge of her. But for that to happen would be a fucking miracle. He really had no idea how to convince Gee to work with him. But, first thing first, he was going to go home, take a shower and a well-deserved nap. He hadn’t slept since Jamia had called him after Gerard had spent the night at his place, and he stared to feel dead inside.

After a short and uneventful walk, he was at home at last. The bottle of whisky he had shared with Gerard and the plates they had eaten in where still laying around the living room. He sighed and cleaned up. He then took the longest shower he could before running out of hot water. The feeling of the burning water running along his body calming and relaxing him. He finally felt clean again. He got out of the shower his body heavy with exhaustion, he made his way to the bedroom and all but collapsed on the bed.

Yeah, he really needed to sleep for like, a century or something. He soon drifted to sleep. The world and all his worries fading away in the distance.

He slept for a long time. A dreamless sleep. When he woke up it was dark outside and he had no idea what time or day it was. He felt better but still tired. But he was also famished. So, he got out of bed and decided to order food. It turned out he had slept for an entire day, it was the beginning of the evening, and thankfully the place he had called the last time was still delivering. He ordered probably too much food, bit then he felt like he could eat his weight in pretty much anything.

Half an hour later he heard a knock on the door and got up again to get it. Just before he opened it he thought _“What if it’s Gerard again?”_  at this his heart started to beat faster. He did his best to ignore it and threw the door open.

On the other side was a young boy looking slightly taken aback by the sudden move. But no Gerard in sight. Frank couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. With a heavy sigh, he took the food and generously tipped the delivery boy.

The food was good, Frank started to feel like a functioning human being again. He was still tired, but the shower, the long nap and the food were a good place to start. He ate in silence. His apartment felt very empty, although he had always lived alone since he moved out of his mom’s house at 18. He had grown accustomed to the feeling of being alone, he had even learned to love it. But since the last time he was there a very drunk Gerard was keeping him company, his place suddenly felt awkward and almost too big for him. Which was ridiculous since his apartment was small, even if he was a detective he didn’t made enough money to afford a nice place.

He sighed again and made his way to the kitchen, fishing some old bottle of booze. He was not usually a big drinker, but nothing about those past few days had been usual. He took a quick look at his phone, not one missed call, one text message of Jamia telling him that he could rest for a couple of days, they should manage without him at the station. He was relieved, he didn’t really plan to go back to work tomorrow morning.

He took a sip of bottle. But once again, being alone, and especially drinking alone made him feel uneasy. He had never been a sentimentalist, but he was forced to admit that he missed Gerard presence. Or maybe just another human presence. Yes, he was just a bit lonely and his tired brain was playing tricks on him. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

He considered going back to sleep but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep right now. He had nothing to do at his place so he opted to take a walk outside. Maybe not the best idea right now, but he needed fresh air and, after he was a trained police officer, he could take care of himself. He’ll take his gun and be careful, that’d be all.

After putting on warmer clothes he finally stepped into the cold night air. He wondered not really thinking about where he was going, only making sure to stay away from the bad areas. The city was silent. The civilians were too afraid to go out at night, the cops were making themselves scarce after the previous days attack, the gang members were terrified as well.

Frank walked for almost an hour. The freezing air woke him up and helped him think. He was still trying to make more sense of what could have happened between Gerard and Lindsay. According to the way he had shamelessly flirted with him, Frank was pretty sure Gerard was gay, so he couldn’t had been Lindsay’s boyfriend, or at least not likely. So only friendship remained. But for her to react so badly their friendship must have been incredibly strong. But, then again, Gerard walked out on her when he left for New York. So, for her to let him come back and invite him back into her life so fast was strange, especially since she seemed to have serious trust issues, and knowing she was monitored by the police.

None of it made absolute sense. And that was bothering Frank. He was turning every possible scenario in his head and couldn’t come up with a rational explication to all this.

He wasn’t even sure of who Gerard was anymore. He had always thought that he had grew up in or nearby Chicago. Started dealing young, and took over an already existing gang. But apparently not.

They had been raised only a few miles apart. Both in Jersey. Of course, Frank had been born in Chicago, but after his parent’s divorce he lived with his mother, who chose to go back to her family, in Jersey. They had both moved to New York when they were 18. Their life converging without ever actually crossing, until a year ago or so.

Frank had a hard time figuring out why Gerard had come to Chicago? Did he have any family there? Like Frank? Why had he suddenly decided to become a crime lord? And mostly, how the fuck did he pulled this off? Because for someone this young to take over Chicago in only a few months was a fucking miracle. And how did he managed to construct a drug empire just after selling out his best friend to the cops was also a total mystery, especially if he had been under protection, as it is often the case for witness in drug related trials.

All those questions were driving Frank insane slowly. He knew the only to have a clear answer was to go ask Gerard, but that seemed a bit suicidal, and utterly stupid. But then he looked at the stars to try and clear his mind, only to find out that he was standing in front of the Peninsula.

“Really? Fuck….” Frank muttered. Mad at himself for letting his wandering lead him exactly where he both wanted to be, but should also be running away from. He stood there for a couple of minutes. Staring at the building. He finally moved, towards the door.

He wasn’t even sure Gerard would be there, and the odds of the guards shooting on sight were pretty elevated, but for some reason he kept walking, as if drawn to the building, or more precisely a redhead inside the building.

“You! Stop!” a guard had spotted him and was pointing a gun towards him threateningly. “Who are you? What do you want?” barked the guard.

“Hi, I’m Frank Iero, I’m here to see Gerard Way.” Frank’s voice was extraordinary calm considering the situation. His assurance even surprised him a little.

“Who?” Apparently, the guard had been surprise by his confidence too.

“Frank Iero, I’m… a friend of Gerard I guess?” He hadn’t thought this through, and started feeling like he should just turn around and go home, “Listen, I’m not a threat to Gerard, can you just like, call him and tell him I’m here? If he doesn’t answer I’ll go home, okay?”

“Well… I guess… Don’t move, I’ll make the call.” The guard move back into the lobby and went to the empty front desk. He quickly dialled a number and, after a couple second of waiting, started talking in hushed tones. He turned to look back a Frank a couple of times, making sure he didn’t move. The called ended after just a minute. The guard made his way back to Frank.

“Okay, the boss says you can come up. Didn’t sound very pleased to be waken up though…”

“Yeah… Well, know that he is awake I better hurry, not keep him waiting.” Frank half-smiled. The fact that he had pulled Gerard away from a good night sleep a small victory in itself for the detective.

The guard led him through empty corridors up to the penthouse. But they didn’t took the direction of the meeting room Frank had previously been in. They took an opposite corridor and walked towards what Frank had guessed to be the royal suite, and also Gerard room apparently.

Once they got to the door the guard told Frank to knock on the door and then left him alone. After a few seconds of hesitation, Frank knocked. He heard noise, a banging sound, and a muffle curse. Gerard must have hit something on his way to the door. A chuckle escaped Frank’s lips, imagining Gerard stumbling around his room in the middle of the night was way funnier than it should have been, but well, Frank was still tired as fuck so…

The door swung open. And all of a sudden Frank’s amusement was gone. In front of him, Gerard was standing, wearing nothing but boxers and a black tank top. He looked a bit drunk and the way his hair hung in front of his face sent chills down Frank’s spine. Oh, this was going to be interesting.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the good detective! What is the occasion?” Gerard words were slurred, which confirmed the theory of drunkenness.

“Hello to you too! Well, since we are such good friends I figured I’d just crash at our place like you did the other day… you know, nothing fancy.” Frank pushed passed Gee and entered the room.

His apartment was far from being the tidiest place on earth, but it still looked immaculate compared to the mess that reigned there. Clothes were just littering the floor, in one corner a couple of fire arms where stacked, in the opposite corner there was a table drowned under art supplies. The wall Frank was facing was actually a window giving unto a massive balcony. On his left a huge double door opened on what he guessed was the bedroom and on the far right was another room, full a different kinds of music gear, ranking from guitars to amps.

All this information left him confused. The art supplies he could make sense of, the guns too. But the general mess and the music studio made absolutely no sense to him. Gerard was always well kept, fine clothes, the meeting room was also very tidy. This seemed a bit out of character.

Gerard finally closed the door behind them. He walked up to Frank and plopped on one of the massive couches positioned all over the room. “Don’t stand there like an idiot, sit.” Gerard patted a stop next to him and Frank moved, absolutely drawn to this mystery of a man. Every time he thought he had him figured out something knew would come up and just confuse him some more. It was infuriating, but in a delicious way.

Once he was seating next to Gerard they let a couple of seconds pass by without saying a word.

“Okay, what the fuck do you want?” Gerard sounded tired and confused as to what Frank was doing here.

“Well… I’m not exactly sure? Like I didn’t plan to barge in, in the middle of the night. I was just taking a walk and found myself in front of the hotel… And then I figured I’d come and talk to you… See I do have a few questions but, I’m not so sure they’re really important.”

“You always have questions don’t you…” Gerard pouted.

“It’s actually kind of part of my job. So, like I have an excuse!”

“Pff… right… Okay. So, what are those questions, officer?” Gerard leaned towards Frank, his voice dropping low on the last words.

Frank breathed in and try to ignore the effect Gerard’s voice had on him, “I know you told me not to get involved in your fight or whatever is going on. But I did some digging. And I found some stuff. And so, I have questions.”

“Haaaa fuck me…” Gerard sat back in the couch and threw an arm over his eyes. Because of the movement his shirt rode up a little, exposing a band of pale skin. Frank’s heart definitely skipped a beat there, between the grumpy tired voice, the choice of words and the bared skin, he was going to lose it at some point. He tried his best to detached his eyes from the exposed flesh and regained some kind of composure. He cleared his throat and tried to regain full control of his breathing.

“Yeah… So, I think I know who the Ghost might be. And I’d like you to clarify a few things? Maybe?” Frank tried his best to be professional it helped him from getting distracted by Gerard who had now decided to stretch like a cat, contorting his body in impossible ways and letting out dawned out breath that sounded almost like moans. God, Frank was going to smack him or kiss him or do something stupid to him if he didn’t stop soon.

“Oh…” The word felt from Gerard lips as he finally stilled on the couch. “Frank, really, I don’t want to talk about it. You should have stayed away from it, like I told you!” Gerard voice was firm, although a bit scared maybe. He clearly wasn’t comfortable talking about the subject.

“I don’t really care. Gerard, I need to know. I need to be sure about certain things. I need to able to find her, to find Lindsay…” As soon as her name passed Frank lips Gerard tensed. He looked back at him with anger and terror in his eyes.

“Lindsay… Fuck. You really did found out.” He looked away, like he was exhausted. “What on earth could you want to know? You have her name, you probably have her criminal records. I’m sure you figured what happened between the two of us. What could you possibly want other than that?”

“Well, that’s it, I’m not entirely sure of what happened. Like you definitely testified against her, you even were the one who was miked up and got her to confess, so to speak. But, why is she so angry at you?” Frank was dead set on getting answers to his questions.  

“Why? You just said why! I fucking testified against her! I sent her to jail! I’m the whole fucking reason her life went to hell! What more do you want? Of fucking course, she’s pissed at me! I betrayed her… I… I betrayed us…” his voice died in a murmur. He looked away, distraught.

“Gerard… Who was she to you? Your best friend? I don’t, I don’t get it…” Frank was less insistent than before but he was still chasing after the truth here.

“My best friend? Hahaha… Well, I guess, in a way… But so much more.” Gerard voice was filed with amusement and sarcasm. “She was my first love, Frank. She was my whole world at the time. We… We made a promise to each other to be together one day. To get married… I loved her… Hell I might even still do…”

“What???” Frank’s voice way louder and higher than he had intented to. “She was your girlfriend? But… Like, aren’t you gay?”

“Gay? No! I’m… fuck, I don’t know what I am… I just tend to fall for people, not genders… And usually those people I am attracted to tend to be the worst thing for me… I was attracted to Lindsay, and now we’re here. I am attracted to you, and nothing change you’re gonna killed because of it.” Gerard’s tone was full of venom. He spat the words out, without even sparing a glance to Frank.

“I’m not going to die… Well, yes, I am but not right now. And even if I got myself shot, it wouldn’t be your fault. I’m a cop remember? Getting shot at is actually part of the job.” Frank had spoken very gently, his voice soft and calming. He moved a hand towards Gerard and reached for his arm where he started to trace soothing patterns.

“But I ruin everything… Everyone I ever love or cared about… Helena, Lindsay, Mikey…. It always ends badly.” Gerard sounded more like a scared little boy now.

“Helena? Your grand-mother?”

“Yes… She… She’s sick.”

“How could that be your fault Gee?”  Frank was still talking very calmly his voice just above a whisper.

“She worked two jobs, when I was in high school, she worked two jobs to be able to offer Mikey and I nice things. But then, I got accepted at SVA and left for New York. I said I would work and support myself, but between the classes and the homework I couldn’t work much, at least not enough to be fully independent. SO, she had to take a third job. She worked as a cleaning lady at night. But after a while she got sick, the chemical she used for cleaning had fucked up her lungs…. See, it was all my fault.”

“Shit, Gee, I’m so sorry… You couldn’t know, you… It wasn’t you fault…” Frank was so sad. In front of him he no longer saw a man full of confidence, not a terrible gangster feared by all. No, he saw a boy that life had fucked over too many times. He saw a boy whose family had been taken away slowly and left him alone. He reached towards him, embracing him fully. He pulled him to his laps and just held him there. He wanted Gee to know that he wasn’t alone. He wanted to tell him that things could be okay. But he had no idea how. So, he just held him, one hand playing with his hair at the base of his neck in what, he hopped, was soothing gestures. He hummed lullabies his mom used to sing when the nightmare kept him from sleeping. And slowly Gerard relaxed in his embrace, the exhaustion and the alcohol finally washing over him and carrying him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you liked it!  
> AS usual, kudos and/or feedback are greatly appreciated! :)


	6. I Don't Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long tu update... But i moved to an other country so I sort of have an excuse for this!  
> anyway, hope you'll enjoy this! ;)

Frank couldn’t go to sleep. Gerard was breathing softly in his laps. He really looked like a lost child like this. Frank was playing with his hair absentmindedly, still humming songs his mother had sang to him. He didn’t want this moment to end. Even if everything was wrong right now, this, this felt so dam right. Somehow, the weight of Gerard in his arms, his breathing, all this made him feel safe. A feeling he hadn’t had in months. He felt almost like he was home.

The night didn’t last nearly long enough to Frank taste. After what had been hours but only felt like minutes the sun was rising over the city again. The moment where Gerard would wake up and they would have to go back to their very messed-up lives, was getting closer. He could hear the Hotel coming back to life, guards starting their watch, doors opening and closing. He knew he would probably be called in by Jamia some time soon. But he still held on. He still refused to let this go.

And then Gerard started stirring. His eyes fluttered a bit, like he wasn’t sure of where he was nor what time it was. But then it came back to him. He sat up, leaving Frank embrace, and Frank’s arm felt empty and cold. Frank crossed them against his chest to try and hide his lost. Gerard was looking at him intently. Without a word, he rose up from the couch, marched to the door, opened it, exchanged a few words with a guard outside and then closed it again and came back to stood in front of Frank.

“Do you have to go to work today?”

“I… I’m not sure. Jamia will call me if she needs me I think.”

“Good. You need to sleep. And a shower. Come.” Gerard held a hand out to Frank, then led him into the bedroom to the bathroom. He gave him fresh towels and left him alone.

Frank was quite puzzled at what had just happened. On one hand Gerard was right, he did need sleep and a shower sounded sort of wonderful right know, on the other hand he had firmly expected Gerard to throw him out without any ceremony. Since he had no clue what to do with himself he decided to do as he had been told. He peeled of his clothes and climbed into the shower. He turned the water on and the stream of hot water hit his shoulder. He didn’t know if it was the lack of sleep, the pent-up stress of the last couple of days or the fear of Gerard discarding him, but this was probably the best shower he had taken in his life.

He spent a little too long under the water, the feel of it falling on his body effectively relaxing him completely. After a while he still decided to get out, he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be welcome here and he was sure that he didn’t want to abuse his welcome here. When he stepped out of the shower he looked around for his clothes. Decided to get dressed and get out quickly. But he couldn’t find them. He searched the bathroom thoroughly but there was no trace of them. After a few minutes, he tied a towel around his hips and exited the room. On the other side of the door he found Gerard. Siting on the bed.

“I sent your clothes to be cleaned. I hope you don’t mind.” There was a trace a humour in his voice, and by the way he was looking at Frank he was definitely enjoying what he was looking at. “Who knew a young detective could have so many tattoos. Oh, but you are full of surprises Frankie…” With a smirk Gerard winked at him.

“Yeah… Well, as long as they are not too visible when we’re uniform we can have as much ink as we want. And I always liked the idea of permanence…” Far from shying away from Gerard gaze Frank stood there. “About my clothes, though I do appreciate the gesture, what I am supposed to wear in the mean time?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if you just stayed this way… But it can get a bit chilly around here. Come I’ll lend you some of mine.” Gerard stoop up and walked towards the other side of the room, he opened a large leading to a massive walk-in closet. “Go ahead, I’m sure we can find that will suit you.”

Frank joined him and looked around, there were so many clothes he had no idea what he was supposed to look for.

“There, take those.” Gerard threw him a t-shirt, a pair of underwear and sweat-pants, all black. “You can get changed in the bathroom if you want some privacy.”

“Yeah, right. Thanks.” Frank went back to the bathroom and got dressed. When he emerged once more, Gerard was sitting on the bed once more.

“Your clothes will be ready in a couple of hours I think. You should get some sleep. You look like shit… I mean you look sexy as hell in my clothes but you know, you could definitely use some sleep.” He stood up and simply walked out the room. Closing the doors behind him, leaving a confused and tired Frank behind.

Frank was exhausted. That was a fact. He couldn’t leave right now. This was another fact. Jamia hadn’t called him, so he probably wasn’t going to go to work today. With all those facts in mid, he decided that taking a nap was perhaps the best course of actions right now. And Gerard’s bed looked incredibly inviting right now. He crawled in-between the sheets and he went to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He didn’t dream. He just collapsed and blacked out for a few hours. He was woken up by a strange weight on his hips. He couldn’t move and his first movement was one of panic. He opened his eyes suddenly and made out a dark figure looming over him. He tried to dislodge the figure by rolling on his side but he didn’t manage to move, his body refusing to move like he wanted, the physical exhaustion of the last few days definitely catching up with him. His breath quickened when he realized he was totally at the mercy of whoever was straddling him.  He felt the panic rise in him.

“What the fuck do you want?” His voice came rough and low.

“Awww, are you scared puppy?”

“Gerard? What the fuck? Get off of me!”

“Pfff, you’re not fun Iero…” Gerard sounded drunk, again. And he didn’t seem like he was going to move anytime soon. Frank sighed and shook his head.

“Seriously, Gee, move.”

“Nah. I like the view from here.” Gerard sounded like a child refusing to share his toy. “You look hot when you’ve just woke up. Did anyone tell you that?”

“Gerard, seriously?” Frank rolled his eyes. Gerard was definitely drunk, Frank couldn’t free himself from him, so it looked like he’ll have to put up with drunken flirting. “Why the sudden attack, may I ask?

“Hmm… You look pretty when you sleep. I wanted a closer look.” Gerard tiled his head and leaned back a bit, light finally striking his face. He looked like hell, dark bags under his eyes, his hair sticking in every direction, a light stubble alongside his jaw. Still, he was probably the most handsome guy Frank had ever seen in his life. This capacity Gerard had to look hot no matter what was seriously starting to annoy Frank, how on earth was he supposed to be impartial when all he wanted to do was kiss this man senseless?

“Gerard, this is definitely not a reason to attack someone in their sleep. Especially if that someone is a trained police officer who could break all the bones in your body.” Frank raised an eyebrow and tried to make his tone menacing. He knew that he had in fact that kind of training, but right now, he was very far from being able to break anything.

“Yeah suuuure, Gerard drawled. I am very scared of you right now, _officer_.” Gerard let a low chuckle escape his lips and smirked, “You look very threatening right now, puppy”.

Frank growled a bit in annoyance and was ready to answer with something smart.

Then, Gerard rolled his hips, creating friction in all the right places.

“Haa, what are you doing?!?” Frank gasped, he had definitely been caught off guard by this. His breathe hitched a bit. This was not a fine. This was a terrible idea. He had to get out of here before he did something very stupid.

“Don’t you like it? Don’t you like me?” Gerard punctuated each question with an expert roll of his hips. A sly grin spreading on his face. He was clearly awfully pleased of the effect he had on the detective.

“Fuuuck. Okay stop. This is not funny Gee.”

“Oh, I beg to differ! You should see your face right now Frankie.” Gerard reached for Frank face, lightly touching his cheek, “You blush so beautifully…”, he licked his lips and leaned in, both too close and not enough.

Frank was starting to lose whatever shred of self-control he had left. The rational part of his brain was screaming to get the fuck out of there, run far, far, far away and never look back. But, on the other hand, his body seemed to ignore this totally and looked completely on board with whatever Gerard was doing. He fought the urge to close the distance between them and kiss Gerard, but he could still feel the other men’s breath on his lips. He swallowed, breath coming in sharp intakes.

“Gerard, please?” The plea clearly didn’t have the expected effect, Gerard seemed to take this as an encouragement and kept moving his hips. Frank’s eyes rolled back and he couldn’t resist arching his back a little

“See, you _do_ like it…” Gerard winked at him and kept rolling his hips. He was only wearing a pair of underwear and a black t-shirt. Clearly not enough clothes to hide his excitement.

Frank forced his eyes open and muster all his forces to finally roll over and dislodge Gerard of his hips. But he hadn’t thought this out entirely. Because he found himself straddling Gee in the end. And this wasn’t really an improvement on the position they were in before, because now, Gerard just looked ready to be fucked. He bit his lips and smirked at Frank.

“Oh, so you wanna play it rough detective?” His eyes looked so hungry, almost entirely black, devoured by want. Frank was seriously considering giving in at this point. He honestly had problems remembering why this wasn’t a good idea anymore. Because Gerard just looked so good right now, and he could feel his breath coming hot on his neck, and the whole world had faded away, and it was just them, and oh god how much did he wanted Gerard.

As he was inching closer to Gee’s mouths, almost without noticing, the whole world disappeared. He was only focused on the other man’s breathing, the frantic beating of both their hearts. His hands rested on Gee’s shoulders he felt like he could never let go. He felt like he needed to touch Gerard for the rest of eternity, needed to hold on to him or he would vanish forever. Nothing mattered anymore but them. Frank kept telling himself that he didn’t wanted this, that it was nothing, that he most definitely did not love Gerard, but every time the voice in his head would grow fainter and fainter. Until it was not even a whisper anymore, until it was completely gone.

Just before their lips finally connected a shrill sound came to burst their bubble. They stayed frozen for a millisecond, before Frank realized that the sound was coming from his phone. He then jerked back and jumped off the bed, looking for the source of the sound. He quickly found it and picked up, his breathing short and slightly panicked.

“Yes?”

“Frank, this is Jamia, I’d like you to come in soon. I think we made progress on this Lindsay you talked about.” Jamia voice was hushed but she definitely sounded excited at the prospect of finally having something against their enemy.

“Hum… Yes of course… I, I might have something to tell you about that. I’ll be at the station soon.” Frank voice hesitated for a while but then he was more assured. He knew what he had to do. He was a police officer after all, his loyalty was to the commissionaire and the city, not the insanely hot mafia boss lying in bed next to him.  He ^put an end to the call and turned towards Gerard who was looking at him with big questioning eyes.

“I have to go. Duty calls and all that.”

Gerard eyes looked suddenly very sad. He looked down and when he finally looked back up at Frank his gaze had hardened, they were back to business, no more fooling around.

“I understand. Your clothes are clean, they are in the living room. I’ll leave you to get dress. I trust you can see yourself out.” And with that he stood up and walked away. Frank heard him open the door to the corridor, have a brief exchange with one of the guards posted outside and then walk away.

He walked over to the living room, got his clothes, got back to the bedroom, and got changed. When he finally got everything he came with back he purposefully walked out of the suite and made his way downstairs. He was very aware of the looks all the guards on his way down were giving him. None of them did anything to get in his way though. Gerard must have given strict orders.

Judging by the shadows of the building it was the late afternoon. Frank hadn’t really bothered checking the time before he left the hotel. He sighed and made his was across the city as fast as possible. Now that he was free from Gerard’s influence he felt the need to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. He almost messed up very badly and he truly couldn’t afford to do that. Not with the city at war, not ever. And now that he had the confirmation that Lindsay was in fact the Ghost he needed to do his job efficiently and quickly.

He reached the police station and paused an instant before entering. Once he would come in there was no going back. When he had given Lindsay name to Jamia it had only been a theory, a very good one sure, but still. Now, he had the absolute certitude that she was the Ghost. And he also knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that what they had seen so far was only just the beginning. There was still plenty of violence and terror to come if they let her have her way. Tonight, they were going to war, and it would only end in blood, he could almost feel the taste in his mouth. Nothing good would come of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you loved it! I will try and do my best to update soon, although we all know how bad at it I am ^^  
> And, as always, feedback and kudos are more than welcome! :3

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hoped you liked this! English is not my first language and I don't have a beta, so if you see any mistake feel free to tell me so I can correct it!  
> Like always kudos and feedback are appreciated! :)


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